Anglo European School
Bulletin for w/c 1st July 2024 Week 1
Anglo European School Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Historical Exhibition
Anglo proudly commemorated its 50th anniversary with a grand historical exhibition, celebrating five decades of educational excellence and community impact. The event, held on Friday 21st June brought together alumni, ex-staff, students, parents, upcoming parents and students and community members to reflect on the rich history and achievements of the school.
A Journey Through Time
The historical exhibition showcased the evolution of the Anglo European School from its founding in 1973 to the present day. Attendees were able to view a variety of memorabilia, including the bamboo cane pre-dating 1970, the Punishment Book, Headteacher’s Log Book, Trophies, past Year books and old newsletters dating as far back as 1974. A memory wall of photos was also put together from all the photos received from ex-students and staff, evoking nostalgia. The displays put together depicted the development of the school, taking over the site of the old Ingatestone Secondary School, which was threatened with closure and then in 1973 Mr Pitt, Headteacher, secured the approval from the Council of Europe to use the circle of 12 gold stars. The school was then opened as the Anglo European School in September 1973.
Reflections on the past inform the future
Mrs Gee, current Headteacher said: “Our 50th anniversary is not just a celebration of our past but a reflection on our journey and the values that have guided us. This exhibition beautifully encapsulates the spirit of our school and the countless memories made here.” Mrs Gee's speech reflected on how all present had contributed, in so many ways, to the development of the vision, aims and international curriculum and how these had all informed our life pathways, principles and achievements.
Attendees not only had the opportunity to learn more about the history of this unique school but also shared memories with our current students who were able to show them around and talk to them about what it is like to be an Anglo student in 2024. One member of the community said, “I spoke to lots of people and all agreed it was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones." Another said, “It was a truly lovely evening talking to pupils past and present and meeting ex-staff members too".
Over the past 50 years, the school has grown and evolved, continually adapting to meet the educational needs of its students, while maintaining a commitment to academic excellence, community partnerships and an international baccalaureate education.
Where will the next 50 years will take us …?
Jack Petchey Awards Evening
Congratulations to all our Jack Petchey winners, who participated in this prestigious event at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon to collect their medals and certificates. This year's Leader Award was awarded to Dr Wall, Head of Science.
Mrs Gee explains below why Dr Wall received this special recognition:
"Dr Wall took over as Head of Science during the first lockdown for Covid-19 and had the unenviable task of organising Science teaching for 11-18 year olds, with limited resources when nobody had done this before! She worked with her trademark diligence, intelligence and compassion, to make this a success, reassuring her team and supporting them through that period and the subsequent issues. This leadership was also evident when we did return to school but teaching had to be restricted, for example, with staff not being allowed to leave the front of the classroom. Practical work in laboratories is very difficult under those circumstances and, without that, students’ understanding and progress can suffer. Dr Wall led the teaching and technicians teams with assurance and clarity.
In February 2023, one of the teaching blocks in school was closed overnight because RAAC was discovered in the roof and it was unstable. This meant that the Science Department lost 3 of their 10 laboratories and these are the labs that focus on Chemistry. We were not allowed to recover equipment from the labs, such as the fume cupboard, and had to move and store the chemicals in external stores in the car park! Therefore, overnight, Dr Wall was set another almost impossible task to solve. She was, of course, ably supported by wonderful people in her team, including a skilled team of brilliant technicians. They were all desperate for clear and unambiguous leadership in a time when we had very few answers. Dr Wall took on this challenge without complaint and was able to redistribute the laboratory time, so groups of students did not suffer, she ensured that all of the practical examinations took place without the students being affected by lack of equipment, and she once again rallied her staff to meet the demands of the “new normal” we found ourselves in for 6 months.
On these two occasions, Dr Wall has shown extraordinary leadership in steering the Science Department through very challenging times. She has also nurtured three ECTs and continued to develop the skills of experienced colleagues to adapt to rapidly changing demands and ensure all students were able to continue learning and make progress in this subject. At a time when Science teachers are scarce and 45% of students in the UK are being taught by non-specialists in Science, Fiona has fought to maintain qualified Scientists, developing and training her own and valuing and supporting high quality subject leadership in her department. Her resilience, commitment and innovative leadership has been quite remarkable and the school recognises this in awarding her the Jack Petchey Leadership Award for 2023.
Once again, well done to all students who received their Jack Petchey Awards. Their stories have been shared in previous editions when they were presented with their official invitations by Mrs Gee.
BEELEIGH LANGUAGE HUBS NEWS
ALL London Event
Mrs Porsz our German Expert Mentor (GEM) and one of the Specialist Teachers from our Beeleigh Language Hub had a fantastic time presenting to other German teachers at the ALL London Event on Saturday 15th June 2024. She spoke about applying principled practice to the teaching of the new GCSE for German, and shared resources with peers from other schools in London and the surrounding areas. Mrs Porsz is also a new addition to the ALL London Branch committee and is excited about this new role! This all forms part of our drive to share best practice and to help to increase uptake of languages across the country via the NCLE Language Hubs initiative and the Goethe Institut's GEM programme.
Beeleigh Language Hub Student and Teacher Event
In partnership with NCLE (National Consortium for Languages Education), we hosted our first Beeleigh Language Hub student & teacher event. Year 10 students from our partner schools, located across the Eastern Region visited us for a cross-hub competition. Our student workshop was led by Business Language Champions who briefed the students on how languages are used within the World Health Organisation. Students then worked collaboratively, using their language skills to build a creative, multi-media campaign to raise awareness of their chosen health issue.
Several students were commended for their stand out performances, including Jack Carter for his linguistic contributions to Anglo's Spanish team and Maite Schulze-Casademunt for her leadership of Anglo's German team. One of the teams from our partner school, James Hornsby High School, took 1st place for the day; their enthusiasm and team work stood out.
Whilst the students were busy working away, teachers from across the Beeleigh Hub didn't get to just sit back, they were working next door on developing HHCL (Home, Heritage and Community Languages) provision. This was led by Clare Allison, Development Officer for HHCL at UCL IOE. We were also pleased that Eva McManamon, Senior Qualification Manager from Pearson Edexcel was able to join this workshop and hear feedback from the schools in order to further develop the HHCL qualifications on offer.
In the afternoon, the student sessions continued with a focus on looking ahead to studying languages further. Students had a Chinese taster lesson with our visitors from BLC and then we welcomed Dr Birgit Smith, former Director of Language Studies in the Department of Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University. She shared how important their linguistic skills are for the future and the many routes and possibilities available when studying Languages at University.
We want to commend the hard work of students from across the Beeleigh Language Hub, they bravely stepped out of their comfort zones to use their linguistic skills outside of their familiar classroom contexts. We'd like to thank our visitors for their valuable contributions to the day and we look forward to more projects and collaboration with our partner schools.
Anglo's Primary Passport around the world!
Ingatestone & Fryerning Junior School welcomed Anglo staff. Year 5 took part in a linguistic tour, collecting passport stamps along the way.
Students learnt about countries in German, ordered ice cream in Spanish, described their faces in Russian and animals in Chinese. In the afternoon, Year 4 students learnt about French phonics through songs from the Francophone world.
We have lots of future linguists in the making in Ingatestone!
Year 9 and 10 Awards Evening at Anglia Ruskin University
Congratulations to all our proud winners from our prestigious Year 9 and 10 Awards Evening held at the Anglia Ruskin University.
The evening was fantastic opportunity for students to be recognised for their academic achievement and progress and was celebrated by parents and teachers alike. Mrs Gee said "Our Awards Evening is a testament to the incredible talent and hard work of our students. Each awardee exemplifies the values of our school, and it is an honour to celebrate their achievements. We look forward to seeing their continued success in the future." Special awards were received by these remarkable students who have gone above and beyond to shine this academic year! The Governors’ Award is awarded to the student who has made the most significant contribution to the school community and local community. This was awarded to Kishan for his continued contribution to our school Bulletin in providing student reflections on many of the events.
Our Year 9 Year Leader Award was given to James and the Year 10 Year Leader Award to Safia. Our International Award for the student who has made the most significant contribution to the promotional of international understanding went to Maite and the Headteacher's Award for academic excellence was awarded to Emilie.
Well done to all our award winners. Thanks to our Anglia Ruskin University for hosting us.
Student Reflection on Avignon Exchange by Student Editor, Kishan: "Ten days. Nine nights. Different country. Different language ... and life-long memories to be made."
Whilst in Avignon, during the day, I toured the beautiful sights of the Southern French countryside and the historic cities. During the night, I lived like a French person. Throughout the time, I relied on my ability to speak the French language, whether it was to ask where the restroom was or if the shops accepted card or cash.
Being my second exchange abroad, I can’t stress enough how independent this opportunity makes you and the extent to which you’re immersed in a different culture. You have a minimal comfort zone to retreat into: returning home after a long day, you will have to use your brain and speak the local way to your host family. Indubitably, it’s the best way to advance your linguistic ability and soon, you just default to thinking in the language. But it’s much more than bettering your tongue.
The families are always helpful souls who will make you feel welcome with a smile on their face. As soon as I arrived in Avignon, they started a conversation, asked many questions, helped me with my luggage and made me feel at home. To my surprise, I had a small house to myself and the sympathetic hosts, great weather and the best food sealed the deal. I enjoyed every meal that I had, giving me the taste of a different culture, literally - in my case, my exchange’s mother prepared flavourful Chinese food that always left my stomach wanting more! Not to mention, they used fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the farms they owned and cultivated crops on. Being able to speak bits of Mandarin (my host family, originating from China). I felt comfortable too and didn’t want to go back home in the end!! I made many new friends, both from Anglo and in France, and strengthened the bond with old friends through this trip, spending the time touring with them, travelling to the destinations and making so many memories - especially when fooling around.
I would have to say that the highlight for me was the weekend I passed with my host family. Canoeing on the beautiful River Rhône, passing a Roman Aqueduct that’s more than 2000 years old, skimming stones over the water and having a picnic on the banks was undeniably the best part of the exchange albeit my clothes getting completely drenched crossing the river rapids. The next day, cycling near the river was as enjoyable but we were caught in the rain while returning. I will always remember how fate wanted to soak my outfit but it never dampened our spirits. And many of my friends did similar things like cliff diving, swimming, hiking and much more.
Living life with another family with different languages and habits shows you how people live their lives differently. Whether that’s eating meals earlier, going for a walk everyday with their dog or partaking in extracurriculars and social activities, the limit to what you could do on such a visit is your imagination. And one thing that I can say for sure is that this experience will change you for the better! I will always recommend those who are thinking about it to go ahead with this opportunity.
Mandarin Excellence Programme
7C accompanied by Year 9 Japanese students made their way to the British Museum. Here they discovered many artefacts from across Japanese and Chinese history, while exploring the impressive length of time each of these countries has been around. From here, they walked to China Town, where the students split to eat either a Japanese or Chinese meal - for many of our students this meant putting their chopstick skill training to the test. Afterwards, they were able to look around China Town and the Japan Centre, with many Chinese students snagging themselves a Bubble Tea! Much fun was had from all.
8C travelled virtually to the People's park in Chengdu. They were guided around the park learning all about the different teas and typical food on offer and witnessed the lanterns being lit which illuminated the whole park. Chengdu is famous for pandas and models of these were dotted around the park, this is one of the possible destinations for the MEP China visit, so perhaps 8C will be lucky to visit Chengdu in person next year and meet the pandas.
9C will be departing soon for their MEP visit to Xi'an in the Shaanxi Province. We wish them safe travels and are sure they'll have an exciting and enriching experience.
Track down our 50 cheeky Galavanting Gonks!
Are you ready for an adventure that will take you all over our school?
Mark your calendars for the most exciting event of the year – the Gallivanting Gonk Hunt!
From Monday 1st July 50 Anglo Gonks will arrive in school, but they will not be easy to spot. Who will be the winning form and be crowned Gonk Champions 2024?
Preparations are in hand for our 50th Big Lunch on Friday 5th July 2024. Students are invited to wear non-uniform on this day with a £1 donation that will be put towards buddy benches that can be enjoyed throughout the year. This can be paid via ParentPay in the usual way.
The lunch will take place during Period 4 for Years 7, 8 and 9 and Period 5 for Year 10 and Lower Sixth. Ice-cream vans will be joining us on school site which will take either cash or card. You are welcome to bring whatever you would like to enjoy your picnic, including a blanket to sit on. Picnic lunches will be available for purchase in the dining hall at £2.50 – there will be no other food available on this day.
SPORT
Brentwood Schools' District Athletics Competition
Anglo took part in the annual Brentwood schools district athletics competition on Wednesday 19th June at Melbourne Park Athletics Stadium. There were some terrific individual results, but none more so than Arun (hurdles) and Francesco (long jump) who broke long standing district records! The Year 8 boys also had a notable achievement of finishing in 3rd place. Overall, Anglo were well represented in all events and were a credit to the school with their behaviour and effort in quite hot and humid weather conditions. Our medal winners are below:
Year 7
Beatrix - 1500m 1st
Lilyanne - Shotput 3rd
Felix - 1500m 3rd
Ayden - Hurdles 3rd
Year 8
Tatiana - Discus 1st
Jayden - Discus 2nd
Oba - Hurdles 2nd
Harry - Javelin 3rd
Chris - Triple Jump 3rd
Boys' 100m Relay Team (Jayden, Chris, Hyuga, Yaamin) 3rd
Year 9
Arun - Hurdles 1st - new district record
Arun - High Jump 1st
Dorka - High Jump 3rd
Remy - Discus 3rd
Jamal - 100m 3rd
Frank - 1500m 3rd
Boys' 100m Relay Team (Jamal, Pampam, George, Arun) - 3rd
Year 10
Daniel - 300m 1st
Francesco - Long Jump 1st - new district record
Congratulations Team Anglo!
Year 7 Girls' Rounders
Year 7 girls had a good rounders rally tonight, enjoying many rounders scored and catches! Well done girls!
Year 9 Cricket
Year 9 cricket team won by 61 runs in their last league game today. The result maintains their 100% record meaning they have qualified for the final. Aarav received the top score with 23 and Daniel scored 14. Noah and Aarav were Anglo's standout bowlers who both only conceded 5 runs off their 2 overs. Well done boys!
Bus Travel - Nibs Bus 50
We have been informed by Nibs Buses that they have sent Timetable Proposals for the new term in September. If you travel on Route 50 please keep an eye on their website for the impending changes, as these will be approved over the summer. https://nibsbuses.com/
Donate your unwanted Exam Revision Books
Year 11 and Upper Sixth students and parents, if you have any revision books that you no longer need please consider donating these to the school as these are a fantastic resource that we can keep in our Library for the next cohort. Thank you for your continued support.
Donation of School Uniform
As we approach the end of the school year, we are reaching out to ask for your support in an important initiative. Many students outgrow their school uniforms before they wear out, and we would love to give those gently used items a new life by providing them to families in need.
If you have any items of school uniform that your child has outgrown, but are still in good condition, please consider donating them to our school. Your generous donations will help ensure that all students have access to the appropriate attire.
How You Can Help:
- What to Donate: Gently used school uniform in good condition (no tears, stains, or excessive wear).
- Where to Donate: Please drop off your items at School Office during school hours.
Thank you for your generosity and for helping us foster a supportive and inclusive school environment.
CAREER ADVICE - WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE?
This week we are focusing on Travel and Tourism and the specific career pathways for students to consider.
LAMDA from September
Whether a student is an aspiring performer or simply loves drama and being creative, LAMDA is an opportunity for all to improve self-expression, develop presentation and, arguably most importantly, have fun!
Session are run at school on;
- Thursday during the lunchtime hour (12:30-13:30) for Year 8 & 9
- Thursday after school (15:35-16:35) for Years 10-13 & more advanced grades
Places in the classes are limited - contact lamdawithdanielle@hotmail.com and include the full name and Year of the student, (as of September).
OPPORTUNITIES
Summer Holiday 2024 in Chelmsford is about HANDBALL
We are pleased to inform you that starting from 24 July, our Chelmsford Handball Club with the support of & England Handball Association, will start selection and training sessions for children aged 08 -16 years old. The activities are carried out in collaboration with Community Sport & Wellbeing Chelmsford and who developed the PLAY in the PARK summer project.
There will be 30 days of Handball of 4 hours per day on different locations in Chelmsford and Essex. Stay tuned with our online media because we will publish the locations for every day after June 24th. We are waiting for all children, parents and PE teachers alike to get acquainted with this wonderful and dynamic Olympic sport.
Looking forward for a long and great cooperation with your institution , please do not hesitate to contact us for any enquiry or booking a special training session
Key Dates
23 June to 6 July - L6 Madrid Work Experience Students visiting AES
23 June to 6 July - L6 Venice Work Experience Students visiting AES
1-2 July - Lower Sixth Induction Days
3 July - New Lower Sixth Maths Bridging Day
3 July - Upper Sixth Prom
5 July - Non-Uniform Day and The Big Picnic
5-16 July - China Visit for 9C
5 July - Upper Sixth IB Results
7-12 July - Lower Sixth Krakow and Vienna Visit
7-12 July - Lower Sixth UN Geneva Visit
10 July - Year 11 Prom
11 July - Nearly new uniform sale
15-19 July - Year 10 History Visit
16 July - Sports Day
19 July - School ends 12.30pm
2023/24 Key Dates - https://www.aesessex.co.uk/home/parents/key-dates-and-term-dates/
Term Dates 2023-2025 - https://www.aesessex.co.uk/assets/Documents/Attachments/Term-dates-2023-2025-including-first-day-of-term-dates-Sep24.pdf
Term Dates 2024-2026 - https://www.aesessex.co.uk/assets/Documents/Attachments/Term-dates-2024-2026-1.pdf
Anglo Communication
Finance - finance@aesessex.co.uk
Admissions - admissions@aesessex.co.uk
Attendance - use Edulink
Email: enquiries@aesessex.co.uk
Website: aesessex.co.uk
Location: Anglo European School, CM4 0DJ, Willow Green, Ingatestone, UK
Phone: 01277 354018
Anglo European School is a distinctive, comprehensive school which seeks to develop ambitious, resilient and principled young people through inter-cultural understanding and a broad balanced, inclusive curriculum enriched by a strong international dimension informed by the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate.